Regularly updated blog charting the most important albums of the last 50 years

Monday, February 18, 2008

498. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message (1982)

Track Listing

1. She's Fresh2. It's Nasty3. Scorpio4. It's A Shame5. Dreamin'6. You Are7. Message8. The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel

Review

So it's very much unlike a lot of hip-hop. It's smart, funny, innovative, thoughtful and fun. And it is all of these in spades. This is just an amazing album, Grandmaster Flash is responsible for the development of many of the techniques used by DJ's from then until now and here they are brought almost to their perfect state.

It is an amazingly funny album, the lyrics of almost all the songs will make you laugh, with the notable exception of what is probably the best track, The Message, one of Grandmaster Flash's most famous along with White Lines.

The sampling is inspired from Tom Tom Club to Queen through the Incredible Bongo Band and Chic. This is pretty amazing stuff running a gamut from electronica in Scorpio to Stevie Wonder ballad tribute in Dreamin'. The whole thing is a Dj's/rapper's delight. Track Highlights

1. The Message2. It's A Shame3. Scorpio4. It's NastyFinal Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

"The Message" is an old school hip hop song by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five released in 1982. The song's lyrics were some of the first in the genre of rap to talk about the struggles and the frustrations of living in the ghetto. The song was written by Sugar Hill session musician Ed "Duke Bootee" Fletcher and Furious Five MC Melle Mel. Flash and the other members of The Furious Five, although credited on the record, were uninterested in recording the song and are not found on the finished record.